1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure and control for magazine loading and film supply in cameras.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some of the conventional cameras which employ a 135-type film magazine use a loading system in which the magazine can be loaded by simple insertion and the operation of setting a film leader into a spool chamber located in the camera is not required.
A camera which uses such a loading system is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H2-69732. In such a camera, after the magazine has been loaded, the winding shaft of the magazine is rotated in the rewinding direction and the length of the exposed portion of the film leader is decreased to a preset value. Then, the magazine itself is rotated from the loading position to a preset film supply position and the film tip is guided by a guide part into an exposure unit. As a result, the film can be reliably fed into the camera exposure unit even if the film tip is curled significantly.
However, the camera disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H2-69732 requires rotating the magazine after loading, the space taken by the magazine chamber is necessarily increased, and the camera body is increased in size. At the same size, the structure becomes complex because a mechanical unit is required for rotating the magazine.
In the camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. S62-215256, a magazine cover is opened and the magazine is loaded. The magazine cover is then closed in a state in which a film leader is exposed to the outside of the camera from an inlet opening. Once the exposed film leader has been pulled into the camera, the film is fed to a spool chamber via a supply path and assumes a shooting-ready state. In such camera, the film can be reliably loaded without paying much attention to the length of the exposed film leader.
However, in the camera disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. S62-215256, the film leader is exposed to the outside of the camera immediately after the magazine has been loaded and this leader is pulled into the camera, which is inconvenient. Furthermore, in an ordinary shooting state, the film inlet opening is exposed on the camera, which is undesirable in terms of light leakage and waterproofing, and also from the standpoint of appearance.
Furthermore, in the camera employing the above-described loading system, which was disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. S63-164733, a magazine with an exposed film leader is loaded by insertion from the axial direction between a camera body and a rear cover opened to a preset angle. In such camera, the film loading is started and the film is set in a shooting-ready state when the rear cover is closed.
However, in the camera disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. S63-164733, when the magazine is loaded into the camera body, the film leader has to be inserted into the gap between the rear cover and camera body in an extended state thereof. Therefore, the film leader is difficult to insert into the gap and the camera is inconvenient to use. Furthermore, the film leader has to be inserted so as to avoid interference with the sprocket catches located in the camera body. Accordingly, the size of the spool chamber is increased which makes it difficult to reduce the dimensions of the camera.
The invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H6-235962 which provides a structure surrounding a magazine chamber of a camera relates to a camera employing a magazine of a type in which the entire film leader is contained inside the magazine body. In such camera, the film feed surface in the film feed opening of the magazine is inclined at a preset angle to the film pressure plate surface. Such an arrangement makes it possible to eliminate the unnecessary space between the magazine chamber and the side wall of the camera body surrounding the light path and the decrease the width of the camera.
However, the camera disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H6-235962 cannot employ a magazine of the type which includes an exposed film leader, to which the present invention pertains, but the aforesaid conventional camera uses a structure in which, as described above, the film is fed in a tilted state thereof and is directly led onto the film rail surface. Therefore, the film could be damaged by the rail surface. Furthermore, sometimes the film became loose in the vicinity of the inlet portion of the rail surface and the film flatness was difficult to maintain. In order to prevent loosening of the film in the vicinity of the inlet portion of the rail surface, it was necessary to incorporate a separate film control means.
The present invention was created to resolve the above-described problems and it is an object of the present invention to provide a camera in which loading of the magazine from an axial direction thereof and loading of film can be reliably conducted and which has a simple structure.
A camera in accordance with the present invention comprises:
a magazine chamber into which the magazine can be inserted in the direction of the winding shaft in a state in which a film tip exposed to the outside thereof is wound thereon,
a rod-like film guide which is disposed inside the magazine chamber and is inserted between the magazine and the film tip that is exposed to the outside of the magazine when the magazine is loaded into the magazine chamber,
a rewinding mechanism comprising a fork engageable with one end of the winding shaft of the magazine and driving the fork so as to wind the film tip into the magazine,
a feed mechanism comprising a sprocket forming a part of the film guide and driving the sprocket so as to feed the film tip toward a spool,
a wind-up mechanism comprising the spool disposed on the opposite side of the camera with respect to the magazine chamber so as to sandwich a shooting orifice therebetween and driving the spool so as to advance the film fed by the driving operation of the feed mechanism, and
a control circuit for controlling the supply of the film, wherein the control circuit drives the rewinding mechanism so as to rewind a portion of the film tip into the magazine, terminates the rewinding operation once the film tip has been rewound to a preset position, and then drives the feed mechanism so as to feed the film tip toward the spool.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become evident from the following description.